Welcome to Ballotpedia’s Weekly Brew. Each week, we’ll bring you a collection of the most-viewed stories from the Daily Brew, condensed, along with other content from across Ballotpedia that we think you’ll like.
Today’s Weekly Brew brings together content from the week of October 12 - October 16.
This week’s top stories
Here are the Daily Brew stories our subscribers clicked on most this week.
A look at how elections are run in the U.S.
This week, we're sharing the ninth installment in our project marking America's 250th anniversary: The Blueprints of Democracy.
One thing most voters won't have on their minds when they head to the polls on Nov. 3 is the many administrative processes, rules, and regulations that govern our elections.
But these rules are what make elections work. And they cover far more than just what happens on Election Day.
This year's state legislative elections are the third most competitive since 2010
State legislative elections are the third most competitive this year than they've been since 2010, driven by an above average percentage of incumbents who faced contested primaries and seats contested by both major parties in the general election.
According to our 16th Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report, competitiveness across all 6,137 state legislative seats up for election on Nov. 3 in 46 states trails only the two other most recent midterm years in that time — 2018 and 2022. This year, our overall competitiveness index score for the year is 35.4, above the average of 34.0 between 2010 and 2024.
That score is based on three factors each year: the percentage of open seats, contested primaries, and general elections contested by both major political parties.
Republicans cannot lose more than two seats to keep control of the U.S. Senate, Democrats need to gain four for a majority
Republicans are defending 22 seats in this year’s U.S. Senate elections, including two that are up for special election, and Democrats are defending 13. The outcomes will determine whether Republicans can hold on to the majority they gained in the 2024 elections or whether Democrats will regain a majority.
Currently, Republicans have a 53-45 majority in the Senate, with two independents caucusing with Democrats. To win back the majority, Democrats need a net gain of four seats. Republicans can afford to lose only two seats and still maintain control.
Democrats are defending two seats in states that President Donald Trump (R) won in the 2024 presidential election: Georgia and Michigan. Republicans are defending one seat in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in the 2024 presidential election: Maine.
Republicans cannot lose more than two seats to keep control of the U.S. House, Democrats need to gain three for a majority
Ahead of this year's general elections, the U.S. House is made up of 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and one independent who caucuses with Republicans. Two districts are vacant — one last held by a Democrat, and one by a Republican.
The elections will determine whether Republicans can hold on to the majority they gained in the chamber in the 2022 general elections or whether Democrats will regain a majority. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to gain control of the chamber, while Republicans can afford to lose only two districts and still maintain control.
Democrats are defending 22 districts that President Donald Trump (R) would have won in the 2024 presidential election under the district lines in effect for the 2026 general elections. Republicans are defending eight districts that Kamala Harris (D) would have won under those same lines.
Steeped in History
Welcome to Steeped in History, a new Weekly Brew column where we'll share a story from America's political past. Today’s column is adapted from Ballotpedia founder and CEO Leslie Graves’ weekly Substack column, Civic Blueprints.
The “Henry-mander” and the 1789 congressional race between James Madison and James Monroe
On Nov. 3, voters in nine states will elect their U.S. House members using new congressional maps. Some of these states chose to redraw their maps, while courts or state laws required it in others.
Redistricting traces back to the Constitution’s Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, which requires states to apportion U.S. House representation based on population. This clause is fascinating for a host of reasons (some of which are still the subject of litigation to this day), including the wording that established how many House members each state would have in the First Congress (1789-1791).
The Constitution left the time, place, and manner of electing members of Congress to state legislatures, while giving Congress the power to change those rules. Beyond that, the mechanics of running elections — and of redrawing districts after each census — were largely left to the states.
And state lawmakers demonstrated that they were willing to draw districts that benefited one party over another. The term “gerrymander” arose following the approval of a redistricting proposal by prominent founding father and Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry that broke a Federalist stronghold in the state Senate and helped elect more Democratic-Republican members.
Gerry’s actions, though, may not be the first or even the most interesting instance of a state legislature drawing congressional districts to favor some over others. In 1788, founding father Patrick Henry, who was then a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and a leading opponent of the new Constitution, worked to block the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, from being elected to the First Congress. As James Madison's Montpelier tells it:
Attempting to keep Madison out of the House of Representatives … Henry and his supporters made sure that the Fifth Congressional District was drawn to group Madison’s home county, Orange, with five counties that had sent anti-federalist delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention (Amherst, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, and Spotsylvania), and one county (Louisa) whose delegation had been split between federalist and anti-federalist. Orange and Albemarle were the only counties in the district that had elected only federalists to the ratifying convention. Surely the majority of voters in the Fifth Congressional District would favor an anti-federalist candidate over James Madison.
Madison’s opponent in that election: the man who would one day serve as his secretary of state and presidential successor, James Monroe. It was a spirited campaign (in more ways than one). In the end, however, the “Henry-mander” failed, and Madison defeated Monroe by 336 votes in a district that was drawn to favor his opponent.
In other news
Go beyond the Daily Brew with Ballotpedia News. Explore this week's headlines below:
- Record low number of uncontested incumbents in 2026 state legislative general elections
- Democrats are defending five governorships in states Trump won in 2024, Republicans are defending two in states Harris won
- This year has the most open state executive elections since 2018
- Montana to have its first state supreme court election since allowing political parties to contribute money to judicial candidates
This week’s read
This week’s read comes from Recall Roundup, a quarterly newsletter covering the latest developments in recall elections nationwide.
By the numbers: 2026 so far
So far this year, the number of officials targeted in recall efforts ranks third-highest since Ballotpedia’s tracking began in 2010. At the same time, the success rate is lower than the 16% average Ballotpedia tracked from 2010 to 2025.
From Jan. 1 through Oct. 2:
- 274 recall efforts targeted 438 public officials
- 55 officials faced recall votes
- 17 officials resigned after recall efforts were started against them
- 21 recall elections are scheduled but have not yet been held
- Efforts against 177 officials ended without going to the ballot
- 8% of all officials targeted were removed from office
- 64% of the officials who faced a recall vote were removed from office
This week’s watch
Texas Tribune’s Jayme Lozano on data centers, rural voters, and the Texas races to watch
On this episode of On the Ballot: Jayme Lozano, who covers the South Plains and Panhandle for The Texas Tribune, joins Host Norm Leahy to talk about what’s on Texas voters’ minds heading into November, from affordability and property taxes to the data center boom reaching rural communities. They also discuss why the open race for agriculture commissioner matters more than many voters realize, how rural Texans could shape the governor’s and U.S. Senate races, the challenges facing the state’s ranchers, and the under-the-radar races she’ll be watching on election night.